THEG CHOG YE SHE SA LA CHIN PAR SHOG May we arrive at the state of the supreme vehicle of wisdom

This text arose naturally when the abbot of Siu-Gang monastery (one of the four great monasteries in the Nyingma Pai-yul lineage in Xi-kang) Shri-gang Matrul Rinpoche (Chokyi Nyima) saw the face of Padmasambhava in a Dzogchen state of primordial wisdom. Rinpoche stated that if any devoted disciple of the Triple Gems who has pure faith frequently prays with this text together with the recitation of 1 million Guru Rinpoche mantra (OM AH HUNG BENZA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUNG), he/she will received sublime blessings and increase his/her accumulations of merit and wisdom, ultimately attaining to the level of the original protector Samantabhadra.

This sublime practice was revealed by the Great Terton Chokyi Nyima (Matrul Rinpoche) in a profound pure state. This is an extremely concise and potent practice from amongst Rinpoche’s termas on Padmasambhava which has the power to liberate on hearing. Matrul Rinpoche has said personally that any sentient being who listens to this prayer, no matter whom, as long as he hears this prayer, his worldly fortune and merits will increase, he will receive inconceivable blessings, in the future he will definitely be reborn in Sukhavati (Amitabha’s pureland) or Guru Rinpoche’s pureland. This Guru Rinpoche prayer which liberates by hearing is extremely important and has very vast meaning. Therefore Rinpoche hopes that this prayer would be transmitted to the whole world so that everyone can receive the blessings of Guru Rinpoche and be liberated by hearing.

Matrul Rinpoche and his Dharma Heir Rigar Rinpoche has compassionately given permission that anyone who has seen this Heart-Essence Prayer to Guru Rinpoche can recite it according to its Tibetan transliteration even without having received empowerment or oral transmission. Later, when it is possible, it would be perfect and auspicious if they can receive empowerment or oral transmission from a teacher.

The precious Matrul Rinpoche Shri-gang Matrul Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche who lived to the age of 82 was widely recognized in Tibet as a genuine emanation of Guru Rinpoche. He was also the rebirth of one of Guru Rinpoche’s 25 disciples, Nubchen Sangye Yeshe. He was also the emanation of Black Zambhala (a wealth deity). His life was full of miraculous occurrences and he has been regarded as the son of the Machen Mountain God. Rinpoche is one of the older generation of teachers who transmit Guru Rinpoche’s teachings. We regard him as Padmasambhava in person who confers liberation on sight.

Matrul Rinpoche was the vajra brother of His Holiness Penor Rinpoche and he both gave and received empowerments from His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche. He was highly praised by His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok as someone who “did not need to be examined any further, he is a true Vajra Master,” and “he is truly Nubchen Sangye Yeshe’s true emanation.” His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok once said in front of the Chinese disciples, “Just like Achuk Lama of Yachen, Matrul Rinpoche of Shri-gang is the same, these are the true great Tulkus.” When Matrul Rinpoche was invited to Larung to attend the Amitabha Prayer Festival, His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok personally came down from his throne to offer a ceremonial scarf and invited Matrul Rinpoche to share his throne. His Holiness supplicated Matrul Rinpoche to give the Colleges’ students empowerments and to confer the Nyingthig Yabshi. Tenzin Gyatso Tulku of the Sertar Buddhist College who was also a disciple of His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok praised Matrul Rinpoche as being no different from His Holiness Jigme Phuntsok in terms of enlightened qualities.

When Matrul Rinpoche visited Yachen Monastery, Achuk Lama Rinpoche similarly came outside the door to received him, and frequently proclaimed Matrul Rinpoche’s wondrous qualities to the gatherings of monks and nuns. In addition, at the behest of Achuk Lama Rinpoche, Matrul Rinpoche performed practices to remove obstacles to Yachen Monastery several times. The parinirvana ceremonies of the great accomplished master Khenpo Chokyab was similarly presided over by Matrul Rinpoche. In Tibet, especially within the Nyingma tradition, Matrul Rinpoche is highly esteemed and he was approached by many teachers from other schools for teachings.

Events from Matrul Rinpoche’s life has spread throughout Tibet, as a great treasure-revealer, he has revealed so many termas that it fills an entire room. Sometimes Rinpoche would just sweep his hands in the air in front of him and his entire body and dharma robes would be filled with all kinds of termas. When Rinpoche was in Machen Mountain to retrieve terma, under the public view, his arm suddenly extended and he reached deep into the mountain and retrieved a Buddha statue. Even when Rinpoche was imprisoned, he retrieved many yellow terma parchments in his cell and benefitted his fellow-prisoners. In this way, he aroused faith in the minds of his jailers who released all the prisoners.

Once, when he was presiding over a large scale puja in Qinghai where many tens-of-thousands of devotees attended, due to the interference of non-Buddhist forces, the lightning flashed and there was tumultuous weather with rain and wind, causing much difficulties for the proceedings in the puja. At that point, Matrul Rinpoche displayed a wrathful appearance and threatened in a strident voice to bury the negative forces beneath the ground, then he brandished his Vajra implement and flung it into the space. A bluish cloud in the shape of a dragon descended and dissolved into the river and the obstacle was thus averted. After the completion of the puja, Rinpoche released the obstacle-maker. Events like this miraculous display, had it not been witnessed personally, are difficult for others to comprehend or accept. But this was witnessed by many devotees.

Rinpoche has given instructions for his disciple Rizeng Rigar Tulku to spread his terma on the Heart-essence Prayer to Guru Rinpoche to China and the rest of the world. On 24 November 2004, Rinpoche dissolved his rupakaya into the Dharmadhatu.

(Dear Dharma friends, I found this wonderful teaching on developing loving kindness. It has many benefits and is such an easy way to practice with the mind if one has no time to do much practice. Please do read and make a commitment to yourself to practice it. If more people do this simple practice, I believe there will be much more merit, kindness and happiness in this world.)

Lord Jigten Sumgon gave several volumes of teachings on Bodhicitta. They were compiled by Chenga Drikung Lingpa. Of these there are mainly works called “The Great Instruction.”

Generally we know loving kindness as the wish for all sentient beings to be happy, and compassion as the wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering as in the Four Immeasurables. Lord Jigten Sumgon’s teachings are summarized in two parts: how to recognize bodhicitta, and how to practice bodhicitta.

It is important to know how to recognize bodhicitta. In some traditions it starts with loving oneself, but in the Mahayana tradition, Bodhicitta is primarily directed towards loving others. We recognize it as a clear loving feeling. All living beings have this feeling – that of a mother for her child, or a child for their mother.

In Buddhahood, however, there is an absence of object. It is simply a joy to benefit and help others. In order to arouse bodhicitta, we should see all beings as if they were small children, perhaps as babies, with a feeling of liking or loving, the desire to carry them in our arms and such expressions of affection.

Lord Jigten Sumgon says that it is much more difficult to develop loving kindness, than it is to develop compassion. If loving kindness arises with respect to a loved one, it is considered impure loving kindness. If it arises for all beings as it would for the most lovable small child, strangers, insects, enemies, then it is pure.

How to practice loving-kindness has three parts: practice, accomplishment and application.

The body posture should be in the seven-point position of meditation, with a slight smile on the lips, legs crossed or in the lotus position, hands in “Touching the Earth” mudra as Buddha Shakyamuni, eyes half closed, back straight.

One usually begins by contemplating the loving kindness of one’s mother. Lord Jigten Sumgon predicted that in the degenerate times this might be difficult. In that future time, he stated, that if one cannot arouse a loving feeling by thinking of one’s mother, then use the thought of any other person who has benefitted you greatly, such as a good friend or your spiritual teacher.

Because loving kindness is more difficult to fully realize than compassion, one should spend one to two weeks concentrating on recognizing the feeling of loving-kindness. For a beginner on the gradual path, raising a strong feeling of loving kindness takes an average of fifteen days. Once loving kindness is perfectly developed towards our mother, who has been most kind to us since our birth, taking care of us unselfishly, feeding us, we then extend loving kindness to all those in our town or village.

When this is accomplished we spread Bodhicitta to all people south of Mt. Meru or the southern continent; then east, west and finally north of Mt.Meru, or the whole world. This one world is considered one to be one unit. we then extend bodhicitta to 1,000 worlds. This now also becomes one unit as we extend loving kindness to 1,0003 worlds. This, too, is one unit, or one world system. We now spread loving kindness to 3,000 world systems [note: 1,000 3 multiplies out to 1,000,000,000 and not 3,000]. This is the sphere of influence of Buddha Shakyamuni, the three great One Thousand World Systems.

There are still many other world systems. We extend loving-kindness to the innumerable infinite world systems of the East, South, West, North, Below us and Above us. Seeing all beings of the Ten Directions, without exception, as our mothers. We extend the heartfelt wish for all beings, boundless as the sky, with no boundary or limit, to experience the Four Immeasureables.Beginning with Bodhicitta extended towards our mothers, we gradually expand this feeling to include all sentient beings. If we cannot at first extend loving-kindness to all beings, stop and begin again with the pure feeling of Bodhicitta and then, step-by-step, extend until we generate Bodhicitta fully in all 10 directions, and to all sentient beings.

Lord Jigten Sumgon was meditating in a cave for seven years, when he contracted leprosy. He became very upset, because at that time in Tibet, leprosy was a terrible and incurable disease. He was preparing to leave his body, so he prayed and venerated his yidam, Chenrezig. While doing so, he compared his condition to that of other beings. In doing so, he developed great compassion for the suffering of others. By meditating on the condition of others, that night, he went into the samadhi of loving-kindness.

He felt his sickness leaving him in the form of serpents. By the morning he had attained Enlightenment and the Mahamudra state of Vajradhara. Later he composed a song about his experience, but said that it took a period of three days, because he thought people would be unable to believe that anyone could attain Enlightenment in one night.

He went on to cure innumerable people of leprosy, and became so popular that he was called “the one who dreams away leprosy.” This took place in an early part of his life. He called this period, “Loving-kindness with unfavorable conditions.” The remainder of his life was called, “Pure Loving Kindness.”

How to Practice Accomplishment:

Having recognized Bodhicitta and practiced accordingly, go to a lonely place and sit in deep samadhi. By this meditation practice, you will receive great powers. To practice application, you then use this power to benefit all beings, overcoming disease, famine, drought, war, etc.

If you see an area of the world with such unfavorable conditions, you sit in samadhi and develop love, not only for the human beings of that place, but for all living beings in that area. In this way, unfavorable conditions are overcome. By wishing that “in this area may disease, war, etc., be subdued,” the conditions are pacified.

At the time Lord Buddha was leaving the world, through his miraculous powers, all the weapons in Shawasti were transformed into flowers. By witnessing this, even a non-Buddhist attained Enlightenment. Also, once in the country of Shawasti a great sickness was spreading, and Ananda’s loving-kindness subdued the disease. In Lord Jigten Sumgon’s instructions it states that perhaps during the time of Guru Padma Sambhava, the Mongols attacking Samaye Monastery were pacified by loving kindness.

If you experience unfavorable circumstances caused by spirits, demons or curses, sit in meditation on loving kindness to ward off obstuctors. In this way, you can overcome your difficulties. There are many stories of the efficacy of loving-kindness meditation. If you want to accomplish something for yourself and others in a certain direction, you can focus loving-kindness in that direction. You develop loving-kindness for all beings in that direction, for humans and non-humans alike. You can thus fulfill your purpose. One can overcome spirits, demons and non-humans with loving-kindness.

Loving-kindness is also very important on such special occasions as when giving empowerments, teachings and consecrating statues. On these occasions you being by meditating on loving-kindness and then extending it towards all beings – human and non-human equally – of that particular area and then extend it to the whole world, and then to all worlds. Again to begin practicing, start with a small area and gradually spread loving-kindness, like unto the ripples caused by dropping a stone in a pool of water. In this way, your meditative concentration is not lost!

When consecrating a new statue of Buddha, sit in meditation on loving-kindness, develop Samadhi of Loving-kindness, then sprinkle the statue with flowers. This is the best consecration. Similarly, in doing pujas, if you do pujas in a state of loving-kindness, then the auspicious conditions and wishes are fulfilled. Loving-kindness is especially important for spiritual teachers. When leading rituals and giving empowerments, bodhicitta is indispensable. One cannot function without it. Even if you want to heal someone from sickness, or make a torma offering, you cannot do it without loving-kindness. What small amounts of realizations you do have might be lost in the process without loving-kindness. You can see the blessing power of loving-kindness in daily life. A physician who knows the four tantras, but has not developed loving-kindness cannot effectively heal, while someone who has less knowledge and cultivates loving-kindness does heal.

If a yogi wants to heal someone with a demon or a spirit possession, and if the yogi does not have the proper knowledge of loving-kindness, he may become sick or possessed himself. It is the same with Tantric knowledge. If a practitioner tries to heal without loving-kindness, someone else might become sick or possessed. It is also the case with yogis who practice in isolation in the mountains. Whether they have good karma or not, experience demons or not, have their wishes fulfilled or not, all of this depends on their knowledge of loving-kindness.

At the time of the application of the power of loving-kindness (when giving empowerments, healing, consecrating statues, etc.) you should be very careful. While you are in samadhi, if your state is disturbed by a negative thought, or if a person disturbs you, your meditation becomes useless. While sitting in meditation on loving-kindness, with a view towards the application or that power, concentrate on that application specifically.

If your attention shifts, for example, from war to famine then the famine might be relieved, but your main aim was not accomplished. Or if, for example, a new statue is in front of you and your eyes shift to a statue in the distance, then that far statue is consecrated, and not the one you intended to consecrate. At the time of the application, you must take great care not to break your meditation. If there is a sudden break your meditation power is scattered and the energy disperses. Rather than letting this happen, maintain concentration intensely to achieve your goal. At the time of application your body, speech and mind should be controlled and disciplined.

You should be in a state of mindfulness and awareness, not distracted for even a moment. Allow only positive thoughts to arise. In the case of a statue, never lose attention to the object, even as scattering flowers over it. In certain texts relating to consecration, it is said that a long ceremony or puja is only the outer ceremony of consecration.

When a person in a state of Mahamudra watches or gazes at the statue, only then is it really consecrated. It is the same with the state of loving kindness. In developing this state there are infinite benefits for oneself and for others. One achieves one’s aims and goals as well.

The benefits of practicing loving kindness are often mentioned in the sutras. They are summarized by Nagarjuna in his “Letter to a King.” One is respected by humans and non-humans alike. One is protected by these beings, and they will never harm you. Everyone is happy with you. Your mind is filled with joy. You will never be harmed by weapons or powers. Your fame will spread in all directions. After your death you will be found in the highest realm of Brahma. By practicing loving-kindness you accumulate much merit and wisdom leading towards Buddhahood. If you practice generosity three times a day for many days, you create much merit. But if you meditate for even a short moment on loving-kindness the merit is sixteen times greater. By practicing loving-kindness, one is not attacked by spirits or demons, nor does one experience such things as fighting or quarreling.

Lord Jigten Sumgon was once in an area of Tibet when a crop failed because it was afflicted by frost. he saw this and sat in loving-kindness. Since that time, in an area that can be covered by one person in a day, there has never again been a frost.

Practicing loving-kindness is important for our private lives as well. If we can sit in loving-kindness samadhi, we can spread peace and harmony to our whole families. It is a direct antidote to fear and hatred. Everything is interconnected. In society at large, loving kindness creates peace and harmony, which overcomes war, etc.

Why are there so many unfavorable conditions? Our minds are functioning in the state opposite to loving-kindness with thoughts of fear, hatred and aggressiveness. Subdue the mind! If our minds are pacified, then unfavorable conditions in the world can be pacified. If you consider Dharma practice, the main task is to subdue the mind, in order to be free from Samsara.

The main cause of enlightenment is bodhicitta. The seed of enlightenment is bodhicitta. Lord Jigten Sumgon states that enlightenment itself is the manifestation of bodhicitta, or embodiment of bodhicitta just as the manifestation of hatred is hell. Enlightenment is also dependent on loving kindness and compassion.

In the words of Lord Phagmo Drupa, “Bodhicitta is like a plant, the earth and moisture that nourish it are loving-kindness and compassion. Bodhicitta is the result.” The essence of all of Lord Buddha’s teachings are love, compassion and bodhicitta. If we practice these, there is no doubt that we will achieve Buddhahood.

Chenga Drikung Lingpa, main disciple and attendant of Lord Jigten Sumgon, compiled many of his teachings, referred to as Gong Chik meaning One Thought. Shortly before leaving the world, he declared that the substance of all the teachings are relative and absolute levels of bodhicitta.

Unleashed to turn instantly the entire universe and its inhabitants into ash.

The portents of these bad omens of our approaching total destruction

Appear clearly in the sights, sounds, and thoughts of our world.

Yet the ignorants remain in their webs of delusion and doubt;

Exceedingly stupid, they still do not feel alarmed at all.

Terror from just hearing or thinking

About transformation of our world like never before fills us.

We have no means or hope to reverse this,

Save the undeceiving Three Jewels and Three Roots –

To whom we are crying like small children wailing for parents.

Please hear our desperate prayers,

And remember your earlier commitments.

Extend your hands of compassion as swift as lightening

To hold and shelter those lacking protection and free us from our terror.

When powerful barbarians who plunder the happiness of beings in our world

plot their battles,

Please transform these leaders and their minions

– such ruthless malefactors –

Into proponents of peace, happiness and harmony.

Please extinguish the adverse circumstances of war right on the spot

And expel and destroy these demonic atomic weapons.

Then throughout our great earth

Please spread Dharma teachers, learning, and accomplishment in all directions.

Liberate the world from the claws of nasty gangs of human and non-human

Executioners of the teachings and sentient beings, until not even their names remain.

May vast happiness saturate the whole world,

And beings be elevated through the glory of the four pursuits to the Truly High.

(Notes — four pursuits : duty; wealth; pleasure; and liberation ; truly high : good rebirth as a god or human)

May the times become perfect without the harm of war and strife, as during the Golden Age,

With everyone constantly enraptured in the dance of bliss and joy.

Through the compassion of the ocean of the Three Jewels

And the power of the truth of the dharmadhātu endowed with all supreme aspects,

May the purposes of our pure prayers be fulfilled

And our hopes and aspirations accomplished just the same.

TADYATHA PENTSA DRIYA AWA BODHA NAYE SOHA

The use of the poison of atomic weapons that have the power to destroy in a single second the presence of the Buddha’s teachings and the lives of sentient beings on this great earth of ours, and every bit of goodness in the universe and its inhabitants, will destroy the human race. The time when these extremely lethal weapons never seen before will be used is not far off—signs and indications are growing each day. So, moved irrepressibly by insupportable sadness and intense fear, we must call out like children wailing for their mothers to the one who can stop this: Orgyen Padma.

Thinking of the tremendous need for and benefit of reciting and writing on silk to hoist on mountain tops and hang from bridges, a prayer such as this, which invokes the most important sacred pledges and wisdom of the ocean of the Three Jewels of refuge, I, the vagabond Buddha Vajra (Sangye Dorje), wrote this with a pure intention on the thirteenth day of the third month in the year of the female water sow. Those with faith in me should keep this in their hearts. May the merit of writing this purge the barbarian hordes who trample the sublime teachings.

by Kyabje Sakya Trizin

(source : http://www.ecobuddhism.org/wisdom/interviews/kst2013/)

Life is not only precious to us. It is precious to every living being, from the tiniest insect to the highest god. Life is what is most precious to every single other being. When we experience our own feelings, we can remember how every individual also feels the same way.

We have to always remember how we need to protect the many forms of life, and also to protect the environment that harbours it. No one can live in a place where there is no water, where there are no trees, and so forth. Our lives are completely dependent on our environment.

We might say that the Buddha was the founder of environmentalism. His Vinaya– the code of behaviour that he instituted for monks and nuns – stipulates that “You cannot cut trees, you cannot cut leaves; you cannot cut flowers; you cannot disturb the forest; you cannot foul the river; you cannot foul the grass.” In his own time, the Buddha instructed his Sangha to observe the same guidance nowadays set forth by environmentalists.

Today, our world is experiencing serious environmental problems. Many of my friends are very concerned about this, and have concluded that the Earth will eventually become like a desert; without water, trees and rain. So we need to think about the future beings who will inherit our Earth; our children, grandchildren and everyone else. We need to consider the problems they will face, and ensure that the Earth will remain suitable for them to inhabit.

Buddhist teachings have much to offer in making this world a better place. Their reach somehow goes beyond ordinary human effort, however worthy the latter may be. They are deeper and all-inclusive. Environmentalists are to be highly praised for all the work that they do, for their marvellous accomplishments. Yet we cannot say their philosophy is all-embracing. The Buddhist view of love, compassion and the protection of all beings is deeper and wider than conventional thinking.

Most Buddhist practitioners do not actively help beings. On the other hand, many animal lovers or environmentalists neither pray nor meditate, yet they step in to help animals in any kind of pain or danger. Ideally, we could combine these two attitudes—the Buddhist and environmentalist practices of compassion. It would be enormously beneficial to our world. The Buddha, after all, was a forerunner of environmentalists. Buddhism teaches that we should make this world beautiful, free and clean; not only for human beings but for every living being that inhabits it. It seems to me that modern environmentalists could learn something from the Buddha’s teachings, especially the rules of the Vinaya. By incorporating them into their own philosophy, environmentalists might deepen and broaden its scope.

The work of protecting the environment cannot be simply left to a few individuals or organisations. It is now is everyone’s responsibility. It is essential that everyone become aware of how things might turn out to be on our Earth if we don’t take care of it. If many people make an effort, this will certainly make a considerable difference. Whatever we do, it is important to fully appreciate that life is precious and that we must all do something to preserve it, making it fruitful and long-lasting. We need to do this for our own benefit…all the more so for the sake of future generations. Our environment has already entered into a rapid process of change. Many of my friends in Tibet tell me how the climate there is changing dramatically. Great snow mountains are melting—some at a very rapid place.

We Tibetans believe that it’s not only the visible aspect of Nature that is affected. There is also an invisible dimension to it that we are not always aware of. In Tibet, every mountain has its own local deity that resides there. According to our ancient beliefs, these deities are affected by degenerative changes, and this makes them unhappy, leading to more natural disasters. Due to people’s greed, chemical refuse is thrown into rivers, forests are decimated and the ground is cut open to extract valuable minerals. All these natural environments are home to deities, and when they are violated in this way, so are their resident deities. Many people don’t believe in gods, local deities and other invisible beings. But I believe that they do exist and that they make a substantial difference to how things are.

The visible and invisible aspects of Nature are intrinsically linked to each other, and as a result of their being affected, many disasters arise. In order to remedy this state of affairs, I believe that we need to adopt a two-pronged approach. Not only do we need to follow the directives of environmentalism on how to physically take care of our world, but we need to perform protective and rejuvenating rituals. I truly believe that these rituals have a definite effect on things.

By trying from every angle, everybody in their own way, matters will definitely improve. It is very important that everyone plays a part in taking care of our Earth, not merely delegating it to a few individuals or organisations. Are we not all part of the human race? We have now to think of its future, and of those who will follow us. If we don’t act now, they will have to live in a sort of hungry ghost land.

The Buddha’s wisdom perceives the present and the future, just as we can see the palms of our own hands. He sees every effect to every cause, and every cause to every effect. That is why his teachings are authentic and wondrous. They lead us to work for the benefit of beings, the world and the environment.

This is a message to all the Buddhists in the world. In general, anyone who practices a religion, any religion, needs love and compassion. This love and compassion is to be directed towards all sentient beings: “May all sentient beings have happiness and may they be free from suffering.” Therefore, when people anywhere suffer from heat and cold, you should pray to the one in whom you take refuge. Pray for the benefit of all countries in the world, for example, “May those without rain have rain; may those without water have water; may the fire that injures some be extinguished,” and so forth. You should make prayers that accord with your own tradition. As Buddhists we can recite the Prayer for World Peace or single-pointedly supplicate to Tara. This is the responsibility of every religious practitioner, even if you are the only one in the house. Such prayers will surely be of benefit. Even if only one or two people pray, it will surely bring benefit.

We should all pray together for the well-being of all countries. This will also benefit us. If we close ourselves up and only care about our own well-being, then of course, that will not be of much benefit. But if you pray with the intention to benefit the entire world, that will actually benefit yourself the most, and it will also benefit the world. This is called “accomplishing the benefit of others and oneself.” So everyone should supplicate his or her own source of refuge.

Buddhists, for example, can supplicate Jetsun Tara, Chenrezig, and so forth; recite Mani mantras; perform purification rituals before stupas, or even small statues; be generous to animals, and so forth. All these practices will benefit the world. Otherwise, hatred and jealousy will increase in this world, and love will decline. This will lead to an increase of heat in the world, and in the end the world will go up in flames. Thus, it would be good if everyone would consider this. We should all pray and take this to heart with great concern. If we remain unconcerned about the suffering of others as long as it doesn’t affect us personally, we are just paying lip service to our prayer, “May all sentient beings have happiness and may they be free from suffering.”

The single cause of all the misery in this world, such as floods on the outer level and conflicts on the inner level, is the ill will arising from the hatred and jealousy of the people inhabiting this planet. Instead of helping one another, people harm each other: countries go to war, people and religious groups fight with each other. In brief, love—the harmony of the inner elements—affects the harmony of the outer elements. The five mental afflictions and the five outer elements are profoundly related. Therefore, our efforts to give rise to love and compassion will be fruitful by virtue of three powers: first, the power of one’s own pure intention—one’s own good heart ; second, the power of the Tatagathas—all the buddhas of the three times have made aspiration prayers, but in addition, we must supplicate them. Just as with a wish-fulfilling jewel, unless one expresses the wish, it will not be fulfilled. If we supplicate, then we will receive the power of all the buddhas; this is the power of the Tataghatas. And third, the power of Dharmadhatu—samsara and nirvana have a single basis. The duality of samsara and nirvana is only a temporary appearance due to various karma and afflictions.

As a result of actions committed with an afflicted mind, we now witness a lot of suffering in this world. So how can we purify these afflictions? All afflictions arise from self-grasping, and the antidote to self-grasping is the altruistic mind. Altruism will benefit one in all circumstances: in this life, in the next life, and in the bardo. Everyone needs altruism. Even a tiny creature will experience happiness relative to the level of its altruism.

Thus we pray, “May beings possess happiness and the causes of happiness.” The cause of happiness is love. And, “May beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.” The cause of suffering is self-grasping. There is no other Dharma than that. The heart-essence of the Dharma is love and compassion. Apart from love and compassion, no other Dharma exists. What we call “the Buddha” is the wisdom-mind, the perfection of wisdom. The subtle wisdom of buddha-nature is the underlying basis of samsara and nirvana. Therefore, if one has love and compassion, wisdom will increase. If you understand this, you will discover the method to bring about happiness and liberation from suffering.

Thus, we should engender excellent aspirations. Since the world is currently in such a perilous state, I request everyone to pray well.